WestWind tackles tough issues

Regina – WestWind Pictures is currently shooting Blue Eyes In Canada, a one-hour doc that takes an in-depth look at systemic racism in Canada through the eyes of eight Saskatchewan residents participating in a workshop conducted by anti-discrimination guru Jane Elliott. It focuses on the relationship between First Nations and non-First Nations people living in the province.

Executive producer/producer Michael Snook says he wants the documentary ‘to put a personal face on systemic racism, a topic often dealt with in a very institutional manner.’

Principal photography started June 24, with a total of eight shooting days to be completed by the end of the summer. Blue Eyes is being shot in and around Regina under local director Trevor Grant. Snook and executive producer Clark Donnelly will deliver a rough cut to principal broadcaster CBC in September, and Snook says the pubcaster is looking to air the doc on The Passionate Eye early next year, with a close second window going to SCN.

The $350,000 project receives additional funding through the Canadian Television Fund, Telefilm Canada and the CanWest Western Independent Producers Fund.

In addition, WestWind is developing The Velvet Devil, a one-hour musical drama set in the 1930s, about a Metis woman who, after leaving her hometown and becoming a successful musician, must return for her mother’s funeral and come to terms with her roots. The drama is an adaptation of a one-woman stage play by Andrea Menard. Menard and Larry Bauman, both from Saskatchewan, are writing the script, with development funds coming from SaskFilm and CBC, which is considering the project for Opening Night. Snook is executive producing the drama, which will be shot in Saskatchewan and will include more than 12 musical pieces to be performed by Menard. Laura Bracken